Plant the rye in late October and wait for half a year, baked from rye grown in the field and harvested by willing workers.

Sacha gathers the sheaths of rye from the field. Its fun in the sun

When you have several cups of rye seeds you can grind them in a coffee grinder to make flour. See another page for how to winnow and thresh the grain.

The end result is magnificent. Here is how we do it:

Mix the sourdough starter at room temperature with 1/2cup bread flour and a little water the night before to get it ready

In a large bowl mix together expanded starter, salt, sugar, oil and rye flour, also add equivalent amounts of bread flour to match the rye (2 cups each) and gradually add enough water to mix into dough,

Turn dough out onto a board with flour to knead until soft and stable. Place in a well oiled bowl and turn once to oil the loaf of bread. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.

punch down dough and shape into loaves.

You can crush rosemary, rock salt and oils to flavor the bread

Place on an oiled baking sheet and allow the loaves to double in size again

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 C) for around 45 min

In between use the mixture of oil and herbs each 20min to coat the loafs